Judy Blume voices support for trans community, calls ‘bullshit’ on ‘anything to the contrary’
Sunday, Judy Blume, the author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, took to Twitter to express her support of the trans community, hours after an article in The Sunday Times of London published an interview in which Blume was characterized as an ally of J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter author under fire for her views on transgender persons.
“I wholly support the trans community,” Blume said. “My point, which was taken out of context, is that I can empathize with a writer — or person — who has been harassed online. I stand with the trans community and vehemently disagree with anyone who does not fully support equality and acceptance for LGBTQIA+ people. Anything to the contrary is total bullshit.”
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In The Sunday Times interview, written by Hadley Freeman, Blume said, “I am behind her 100 percent as I watch from afar.” Freeman wrote that this quote was “referring to the abuse Rowling has received for speaking up in defense of women’s sex-based rights.”
On Sunday, Blume’s remarks circulated widely via social media, causing some Twitter users to question their support of the beloved author. In the statement posted to Twitter, Blume said her quote had been “taken out of context,” and then shared a screenshot from her interview with Variety in which she pushed back against book bans, and cites Maia Kobabe’s memoir Gender Queer as “wonderfully enlightening.”
This all happened just a few days after Max (née HBO Max) announced a new Harry Potter TV series, with Rowling as executive producer, that will re-adapt the original seven books. In a news release, Rowling said “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me.”
This news also spurred internet pushback, as fans
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